Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Part 1 of Questions
1) Okonkwo, the protagonist of 'Things Fall Apart' is very aware of all that goes on around him. He is a large man with a wide-set nose and facial features. He understands the fact that in order to no be like his father Unoka, he must set himself apart from others, and thus, he became a great young wrestler. He worked very hard to achieve the greatness he has been granted with. He was only eighteen when he defeated the greatest wrestler in all nine villages. He has since established himself as a very successful yam farmer. There are a few differences however, in how Okonkwo is considered a hero compared to what we consider Western heroes. One would be that he has already been deemed as one of the greatest men of his time in his thirties. Most Western heroes take their whole lives to get that recognition. Another difference would be that he has not gone to great lengths to save or protect people. Western heroes have to go to great lengths to prove that they are worthy of being considered a hero; thus, saving and protecting citizens. However, with the Igbo people, their heroes are great warriors and good wrestlers. Like any person, he does have strengths and weaknesses. Some of his weaknesses would be himself, (because he is so afraid of becoming like his father,) and his compassion for others. This compassion is expressed in his act of saving Ikemefuna. Some of his strengths would obviously be his physical action, his work ethic, and his ability to strive towards what he wants.
2) Okonkwo wanted nothing more than to not be like his father Unoka. Unoka was a careless man, constantly in debt, and yet, he managed to end up with even more debt before he died. He was also weak and held absolutely no titles. Okonkwo felt that his father was an absolute failure and that there was no possible way that Okonkwo would end up like him. Therefore, Okonkwo became a legendary wrestler. The early descriptions of Okonkwo's success and Unoka's failure tell us that the Igbo society does not place judgment on you if your father was a failure, but rather, placed judgment on you by your actions and accomplishments. So basically, one succeeds in this culture by accomplishing a great task or feat because accomplishment in the Igbo society was greatly revered. You could also succeed by working hard and thriving on your labor. What we learn from the system of taking titles is the more titles you have, or the more respected titles you have, can determine how you are looked upon and how you are respected in society. Those who are failures to themselves and society seem to be excluded from opportunities to gain such success as a title might grant them with.
3) The narrator of 'Things Fall Apart' is very meticulous in how the words in the story are and how the details are told. Each sentence flows with fluid clarity because of the way the words are chosen. The narrator seems to have a very unbiased point of view because each village is portrayed as just as good as the next. It seems as though his values and perspectives are also very unbiased.
4) The setting of this novel is in an Igbo village in Africa, possibly around the 1900's. The Igbo people greatly value success, as demonstrated in the taking of titles. They do not believe in just one god, and rituals and ceremonies are very important to the daily flow of Igbo life. Wealthy men are at the very top of the social hierarchy. Personal achievement is highly esteemed in this type of society and is necessary if they wanted to travel up the hierarchy ladder. Social life is organized in meeting at the rituals and ceremonies, and occasional visits to each others mud houses. The important celebrations to the Igbo are the Feast of the New Yam and the Week of Peace. War, religion, and the arts play a big role in the ordering of the social hierarchy. Those who are great warriors and dedicate themselves to war are held in high respect. Religion is also held very high in respect. However, one who dedicated themselves to the arts is considered useless and wasteful of a good life. In regards to the role of individuals in the community of Umuofia, people as individuals are considered very important. There are many differences between the Igbo lifeways, customs, perspectives, beliefs, and values. For example, women are considered equals to men. This would be impossible in the Igbo society. Those who are great warriors are not necessarily considered heroes, and most people believe in only one god, compared to the multi-god community of the Igbo people. The values however, are more or less the same in the ideal that success is very highly valued and many people would achieve this success however they may.
5) Night has a great effect on the people in Umuofia. It makes them very afraid of what they do not know. These people fear evil spirits and dangerous animals, however, in the night this fear is multiplied because they believe the night makes them even more dangerous. An animal that they are afraid of at night is the snake. They deal with this fear by calling the snakes strings at night so as not to attract them.
6) The cause of the conflict with Mbaino is that one of the villagers killed the wife of a villager from Umuofia. Mbaino must give a virgin and a young boy to Umuofia, or the villages will go to war with each other. This conflict would in modern terms not be dealt with this way, however, the nature of this conflict to them is very severe and must be dealt with immediately.
7) The important crops to the Igbo people are yams. They have two seasons; after the Week of Peace there is the planting season, and then after that is the gathering season. Sharecropping is when one farmer gives seeds or money to another farmer for seeds for the farmer to plant and harvest, and the profit is split between the two. There were also gender assigned crops. Men farmed with the yams because they were considered the king of crops and it was the job of a man to do it. Women farmed the coco yams, beans, and cassave because it was easier for them to farm.
8) Family life was very divided amongst family members. All of the children lived in huts with their mother separated from the father. Okonkwo lived in a hut all to himself. Okonkwo has a very distant relationship with his wives and children. This could be the effect of the way his father grew up and lived. Okonkwo had a very bad relationship with Ekwefi. He gets a very bad temper with her and consequently, almost shoots her. Okonkwo amazingly likes his daughter Ezinma and does care for her, however he for some reason is afraid to show his feelings. What is odd is that he thinks she would make a fine son, not daughter. Okonkwo thinks his son Nwoye is too weak and reminds him of his father Unoka. He tries to beat the sense into him. There are many different roles and functions in the Igbo society. Men are the big workers and they are the only ones who can hold titles. Women on the other hand stay at home and are typical housewives who take care of the children, cleaning, and cooking. Okonkwo's attitude towards women is very biased in the attitude that men are better. He treats them with carelessness. He does appreciate that they bear his children and cook him food, but I highly doubt that he in fact loves any of his wives, or his children.
9) The crime that is committed that causes Okonkwo to be reprimanded is the fact that he made the mistake of beating his wife Ojiugo during the sacred Week of Peace. This act of punishment tells me that culture is highly valued and important because he was punished, even though he is a very respected man in society. According to Ezeani, wife beating is considered wrong even at times other than the Week of Peace because it disturbs the Earth goddess.
10) My initial reading experience was a bit of a shock at first because of the fact that the customs and how things are run is very bizarre. It was very hard to relate to it because of the fact that Chinua Achebe made it so far from a normal modern society. Despite all of the differences however, it was very interesting to learn all the different rules and how this society worked and their different ways of life. I think I am responding to this encounter this way because I have not had a chance to experience such a culture that is as far from the normal modern culture as this one is portrayed. What seems to be the most foreign to me in this society is the fact that in order to be considered a 'hero,' a task or complete brutality must have been accomplished. For example, being a great warrior, or being a great wrestler. What seems the most similar to me is the general idea that people want to succeed and want to be respected, which can also be seen in a modern day society as well.